To Go Where No One Has Gone Before: Dinotopia
by Grochek1
Summary: Dinotopia / STTNG crossover. What happens when one of members of Starfleet washes up on the shores of Dinotopia with only a slim chance of rescue? Find out by reading. Please R and R.
1. Exploring the Unexplained

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek, or any of its reincarnations. They are owned by Paramount and Gene Roddenberry (many he rest in peace). I also do not own the concept of Dinotopia. That is owned by James Gurney (may he be blessed by his vision). However, Aaron is my character. Please ask if you want to use him. Clare Raymond belongs to Paramount and appeared in the Star Trek TNG episode: The Neutral Zone.  
  
To Go Where No One Has Gone Before: Dinotopia  
Episode 1: Exploring the Unexplained  
  
Aaron looked around at the faculty of the university that he taught at. They had gathered to hear his latest meeting to acquire resources to further his research. His profession was past cultures and societies. He was considered one of the most brilliant cultural archeologists currently living. However, with is great intelligence came eccentricity. His greatest was the stories and legends of the past. He was a fan and enthusiast of the unexplained or paranormal. In fact, this meeting was based on one of these old legends. In his research, he had come across a strange paranormal incident in "Neo-European" culture of North America called the "Bermuda Triangle."  
He was a man of normal height, wiry build and had straight, dull, brown hair that he kept cut close to his scalp. However, the thing most people would remember about him after meeting him was his eyes. His deep hazel eyes seemed to stare into you. It was as if he knew your most secretive secrets, those thought you had that you buried deep inside. Most people felt intimidated by him just because of this fact. As a result he was somewhat of a loner.  
After seeing that everyone was seated, he stood up and moved to the front of room.  
"Hello, members of the board. I am here today to discuss a recent finding of mine that I believe deserves further study. It is called the "Bermuda Triangle." My research into this phenomenon has raised many more questions. But, first, I would like to begin with my history in uncovering this unusual phenomenon. I was conducting research into Neo-European culture of the 20th century, when I heard that there were three people from that era who had been discovered alive, in cryogenic suspended animation by the Starfleet flagship Enterprise D. While interviewing a Ms. Clare Raymond, she asked me if they had solved the Triangle. I had never heard of this before, so I questioned her about it."  
"From her testimony and my further research, I have discovered the following "truths":  
1. It is an area roughly triangular is shape that has its corners defined by Miami, Florida of what was then called the United States; Nassau, capital of the country called the Bahamas; and the island of Puerto Rico.  
2. While traveling within this area, there are reports of magnetic anomalies, compasses suddenly swinging wildly about.  
3. Occasionally, ships and latter, planes would enter the area and would never be seen again.  
4. Sometimes the ships would later be found, but their crew had mysteriously vanished.  
5. There have been reports of strange lights in the sky in this area. "Now I have also found that most of the stories were later disputed, but there did exist a few that are still on the books as unexplained. Now this is what I propose. I would like to obtain a magnetic spectrometer and other equipment to measure the electro-magnetic spectrum as well as background magnetic radiation. I would also like to get the loan of sophisticated imaging technology. I would submit to this committee the following:  
1. Procurement of a hovercraft capable of conveying large equipment.  
2. Loan of sophisticated technology to be installed onto the hovercraft.  
3. An experienced crew willing to work for an undisclosed length of time."  
"Thank you for your time."  
Aaron stepped down and took his seat. The chairperson of the board stood up. She walked up to the podium and started speaking.  
"Thank you Aaron. We will get back to you on our decision. Now is there any more business? No, then we shall begin deliberations on the topic on the floor. Does anyone have any questions for our resident expert? No. Thank you Aaron, that will be all."  
  
Aaron gets up from his seat and quietly leaves the room. As he is walking down the corridors, he is lost in thought about what exactly he would find. Geomagnetic tripole. They were extremely rare. Most of the times they appeared on planets, and when they appeared, they placed extreme pressures on the tectonic plates of a planet. There were also a number of known phenomena that were preceded by strange magnetic anomalies. Well, whatever it was, it would be nice to get out into the field. It had been a long time since he had been out in nature.  
He was a naturalist. His passion was nature. He was very good at what he did, but all he ever wanted to do was be one with nature. Oh well, not everyone was what they wanted to be.  
He reached his door and it opened for him. He went inside and sat down. Looking around his office, he smiled. He tried to bring nature to his office. There were many plants growing throughout the office, as well as an original watering system. It made use of a ceramic waterfall, which cascaded down over the various pots, making sure all the plants had enough water. The result of the watering system made the office very humid. However, the climate controls in his office kept it from getting too unbearable. He also had a large window behind his desk that was always open to let in the sunlight for the plants. Aaron always felt better when he was in his office, his little retreat from modern life.  
Aaron sat down behind his desk and picked up a PADD (this is what those data storage and display systems seen in Star Trek are spelled) that had the essays from some of his more dedicated students. He sat down and began to read when his computer terminal chirped. Aaron put the essay down and got up from his chair. He went over to his terminal and activated the view screen. What appeared was the image of the chairperson. As he began to take in the breath to great her, she started talking.  
"Professor Aaron. As much as I admire your advancement in the field of cultural archeology, I am afraid."  
"Great," thought Aaron, "they didn't even have the decency to talk to me in person."  
". that we must approve your request."  
"Did I hear her right?"  
"Please submit to the admin office your invoice for your expedition. Until then, we wish you good luck."  
"Well, I always say, "If you are going to do something, never do it half-hazard." That's why I just happen to have my invoice already filled out and ready to transmit. Now we push a few buttons," Aaron pushes various buttons, bringing up a list and then highlights one of the selections, then punches a few more buttons, "and there it is and there it goes."  
Aaron then walked back to his desk. "Now the fun begins."  
  
Over at Starfleet Command, two admirals are seen talking to each other, one is a Vulcan and the other has blue skin with a definite ridge that runs down the center of his face.  
"Did you read this invoice sent to us from the Federation Council's Science Committee about the use of high powered magnetic field scanner for the use of testing the theory of a reoccurring magnetic anomaly on Earth that we haven't detected it in all this time?" Said the Vulcan.  
The other admiral turned to the Vulcan and replied, "Oh well, what else are we to do with the equipment. Besides, they say Cochran was an eccentric fool. If nothing else, it might lead to something. However, I would advice us to send a science officer who might keep a look on the equipment and provide assistance to the professor. I would suggest" taps on a PADD, "this one. He has proven himself to be a very good, well rounded officer. He should be able to help in any realistic scenario. He should also be able to put together a good team to help him out"  
"I agree. We will send him out to be a technical advisor. Besides, he is currently between assignments with his ship in the salvage yard. I trust his judgment."  
The second admiral then typed some things in his PADD and then turned to his partner, "Well, what's next on our agenda?"  
  
Aaron stared out at the wide expanse of pure blue ocean. "It is amazing that we were so foolish as to dump all of those environmental toxins into the ocean and nearly destroyed the entire ecosystem for our own greed and laziness."  
"Professor?"  
"Mmmmm?"  
"Professor?"  
".."  
"Professor!?"  
"What! What! Oh sorry." Aaron turns around and finds himself face to face with a man, well what looked like a copy of a human. Its. his skin color was too pale, too shiny, his breathing was too regular, his eyes a yellow iris and there was no emotion or vitality in them. They were a window to a soulless shell. However, he wore the greenish-tan uniform of a Starfleet officer who had devoted his career to engineering, security, or logistics. He puts his hand out and the creature takes it and they start shaking hands.  
"Ahh, Lieutenant Commander Data. Sorry about that. I was. what's that phrase?... Ah yes, spacing out."  
"Spacing out???" Data starts turning his head from side to side while accessing his internal memory banks for the meaning of phrase.  
"Sorry again. It means focusing on one thing so completely that you lose all sense of what is going on around you."  
"Thank you."  
"Well Lieutenant Commander, I was allowed to view your official file. I must say you have an outstanding record. A couple of reprimands, lots of commendations. A well rounded record. I like to know the people I plan on working with."  
"I also believe that to be a wise policy."  
"Well, glad we could see eye to eye. Now, have you looked over my proposal?"  
"Yes, I did. I find the idea extremely puzzling, but I am also very curious. Do you think we will find anything?"  
"I do not know. I hope so though. But either way, I hope we have fun." Then Aaron smiled at his new partner.  
Data shyly smiled back. "I hope we do. Now, would you like to meet the members of the team that I assembled to assist you in your research."  
Aaron waved his arm in front of him, signaling Data to lead on.  
  
As Aaron looked over the ship, he sighed heavily, drawing in as much "free" air as he could. No papers to read, no responsibilities, he was free. He then looked down at his ship. It was a white, 40 meter long schooner with 3 masts and a 4 century old motor that ran on inefficient and toxic hydrocarbons. It was allowed by the Environmental Protection Board of Planet Earth. Aaron was allowed to take it because one of Aaron's theories called for the use of the specific magnetic signature that only this type of engine could produce. The masts were there for alternative propulsion. All the equipment brought aboard has stressed the ship so that it could not hold a modern efficient engine. It was also necessary to carry their own food and not bring a replicator because the replicator might interfere with the experiment. As he watched, he noticed that all the equipment had been stowed away and the sailors were making ready to cast off. He walked up the gangplank and came aboard. He waved at the captain as he made the final rounds before cast off. Aaron then went below decks to his cabin.  
  
Aaron came above deck and looked out over the open expanse of ocean. They had been out at sea for about a week and nothing extraordinary had happened. However, there had been a few blips in the readings from the scanners that couldn't be explained. It kept the spirit of the crew hopeful. Aaron looked up at the masts of the ship. The sails were down and were completely filled with the breeze, which pushed the ship forward. Aaron still felt that his theory was correct. However, he was realistic that there had been no unexplained phenomena that could be associated with the Bermuda Triangle in over 400 years; it was very possible that the phenomena had simply dissipated away. As Aaron stared out over the water, he suddenly noticed a rather unusual cloud formation. For one thing, the clouds forming were coming directly off of the water. He could tell this because the clouds were too close to be appearing from the curvature of the Earth. Another thing was that the clouds had a greenish glow to them. As he turned to point this anomaly out to a passing sailor, he saw that the team assembled by Data was starting to gather around the readout terminal for the scanners. Aaron wondered if it had anything to do with the weird cloud formation he saw so he ran over.  
  
"I do not believe it. These readings just started spiking. There are practically off the chart."  
"Are we recording the readings?" asked Data, as he stepped into the circle of scientists and engineers.  
"Yes sir."  
"Show me the readings." ordered Data.  
The engineer stepped aside while Data stepped up to the console. He started tapping on the command board and the displays started alternating shapes, from charts to graphs, to tables, and back again. Aaron ran up at this point. He said, "Has anyone noticed the rather unusual weather we are having outside?"  
Data turned and looked at him as well as the rest of the team, "What weather?"  
"I just saw some green clouds forming over on our starboard side."  
"Our weather monitor is showing clear skies."  
"I'm telling you, there is something very weird going out there."  
"Let me see." sighed Data.  
Data stepped back from the console and left the room with Aaron. As they stepped outside, they saw that the sailors had taken notice of the clouds and they were starting to reel in the sails and secure them so they could last out the storm. Of on the starboard side of the ship, the green cloud formation had grown exponentially in size and was rushing towards the ship. The captain's voice could be heard over the ship communication system.  
"All hands, this is the captain. We are running into a fierce storm. Batten down the hatches, secure the main sails, place on your floatation devices, and go to emergency stations. I have activated the distress beacon. Our communications with land are out due to some sort of interference. Above all remain calm. That is all."  
Data turned to Aaron.  
"I have to return to the scanners. We might never get another chance to see these readings. I would advise you to seek shelter."  
"I agree."  
  
Aaron and Data split ways. Aaron heads down to his room, while Data returns to the room with the scanner to obtain all the information he could in case he did not have another chance. However, he made a detour to a storage shed and obtained a floatation device. As he arrived in the room, he saw that the team was frantic.  
"What's happening?"  
"We do not know sir. These readings are like nothing we have ever seen before. We have been saving all of this information, but I don't know what it means."  
"Go put on your floatation devices. I will watch the machine."  
"Yes sir."  
The men started filing out of the room. Data started reviewing all the information that had already been collected and also the new information that was constantly being collected. Data was starting to get worried. His thoughts whirled around what the information meant. That the weird cloud formation was linked to the weird magnetic anomaly was almost a fact. But what did it mean? Data did not have the answers. But he knew that it was not good. He continued to process the data. As he was doing this, he felt the ship lurch violently to the side. The ship rightened itself and then lurched to the side once again. Data chose to ignore this. However, the rocking increased in intensity and frequency. Data started to realize that something was seriously wrong.  
"We have to abandon ship!"  
  
Aaron ran down to his room, opened his door, and ran inside. He immediately put on his floatation device, and then ran to get his PADD with his thoughts, ideas, and theories. He put it into one of his watertight pockets and then sealed. Finally he grabbed his second PADD containing all the information he had that he thought was relevant in case he was stuck somewhere where he couldn't get help or return to the rest of the civilized world. As he sat down on his bunk, he glanced at his door. He noticed that their seemed to be a slow seepage of liquid moving thru the carpet. Curious, Aaron walked over to the door and opened it. A wave of cold water splashed around his ankles and lower legs. Realizing that something was seriously wrong with the ship for it to be taking on all this water, he ran out of his room. As he wandered the corridors, he noticed that the level of the water kept on rising. Thinking that the ship was in danger, he ran towards the scanner room in hopes of grabbing as much data as he could before the ship went down. He ran past a sailor who grabbed him.  
"We have to get off this ship, her hull has been breached and she is taking on too much water. Grab anything you can that you believe can save your life, but get to the lifeboats ASAP."  
Aaron nodded and started running in the direction of the scanner. He ignored almost everything going on around him. He was focused only on getting to the scanner and saving the data. But one thing did catch his eye. He saw a package of food that the cook used in the galley. Not wanting to waste an opportunity, he picked it up as he ran by it and placed it in a watertight pouch. He realized that he was starting to weigh down himself and he had to ration anything else he thought about grabbing. He passed up various items like clothes, bits of debris that was starting to accumulate in the increasingly flooded hallway. He did, however, grab any morsel of packaged food that he came across as well as a triquarter that he found in a storage closet left open.  
He finally made it to the scanner room and saw Data standing in front of the display panel. Realizing that the water had not yet made it into the room, Data must not know that the ship was sinking.  
"We have to abandon ship!" he said.  
  
Data turned around and saw the waterlogged pants on Aaron, the floatation device on him appeared to contain various items and that he had acquired a triquarter.  
"I see. Let me get a hard copy of the data that has already been collected."  
Data picked up a PADD and quickly downloaded the information. He then secured it in one of his watertight pockets.  
"Let's go."  
  
Data and Aaron ran towards the lifeboats. As they ran, Data was able to acquire his own triquarter. As they made it to the launching post, they saw that all but one of the lifeboats had already been launched. As they looked out over the ocean, they couldn't see anything except dark, churning water that reflected the green light of the raging storm. As they started the launching process to release the lifeboat from the doomed ship, a huge wave washed over the ship and it dragged both of them off the ship and into the churning waters.  
  
Note from the author: I hope you like this installment of my story. I pledge to you readers, that I will never give this story up until it is completed. However, I am a student caught in the beginnings of finals and also a worker, so I believe that I will only be able to update this story once a month. I would also like to have someone volunteer to be my beta reader and editor. If you want to do this, please send me an e-mail. 


	2. Castaways

Disclaimer: I do not own Star Trek, or any of its reincarnations. They are owned by Paramount and Gene Roddenberry (many he rest in peace). I also do not own the concept of Dinotopia. That is owned by James Gurney (may he be blessed by his vision). I, however, did not like how Dinotopia was presented in the television series. I will be using the book series and the introduction movie for my background and I will disregard the TV series. However, Aaron is my character. Please ask if you want to use him.  
  
SilverCaladan: just send me an e-mail. Just make sure you have a basic understanding of Dinotopia that is presented in the book series and the introduction movie. I would like to have at least 2 beta readers, one to focus on the Dinotopia aspect of this story and the other to focus on any Star Trek. I wouldn't mind if someone would also look to make sure everything flows smoothly.  
The reason for the Bermuda Triangle was to explain why Dinotopia has not yet been found by the Federation or any current society. I also believe that Dinotopia has been entered mostly by people traveling in the Indian Ocean, but this will all be explained in the coming episodes. I would like to thank my new beta reader Cylent Dryagon-san for reviewing this story.  
  
To Go Where No One Has Gone Before: Dinotopia  
Episode 2: Castaways  
  
The first thing that registered in Aaron's mind was that his mouth was gritty. He very slowly started to open his eyes. The first thing he saw was a bright blue expanse with white puffy things floating around it. He felt the sun shining on his face. He knew that he was on dry land because he was lying down completely and not half- reclined like he would be if he was still in the water and his floatation device was keeping him alive. However, it had saved his life, because he was still breathing. He could feel its mass on his chest and back. His legs felt very warm and also itchy. He realized that they must be covered by sand. He started to roll his head to the side. He saw water lapping up on to the shore of the beach he was laying on. Turning his head to the other side, he saw what looked like a jungle, or at least a heavily wooded region. He laid his head back down.  
He realized that if he did not move to the shade, he would die of dehydration. If he could get to the shade, if he fell asleep, he could survive. His body could go for about 3 days without food, but if he became too dehydrated, he could die in a matter of hours. Already he was very thirsty. Unfortunately, he was still very, very weak. It was all he could do not to slip back into the luxury of unconsciousness. He could not even get to his hands and knees. He slowly started to gather the last of his energy. When he felt strong enough, he started to rock himself from side to side.  
This rocking motion dug Aaron out from under the sand that had buried his legs. When he was free, he slowly turned his head to regain his bearings, on his right lay shade and salvation, to his left, dehydration and death. So he started to roll. Over and over and over he rolled. Finally he couldn't roll anymore. He stopped lying on his back. He barely had the strength to move his head. He saw that he was only a few meters away from the canopy. However, he was so tired. It might have just as well been on the moon. He was so tired. He put his head down and prepared to go to sleep. He didn't care anymore.  
After all, what did he have to go back to? He was an aging, single, professor. His family was mostly gone. Besides, they were on strained relationships anyways. He had only a few friends. He would miss his students, but there were others who could teach his material. In fact, all he could really miss was his connection to nature. He worried about his pets. He hoped that they would be cared for. Wait a minute! What was he thinking? He still had too much to live for. There were places he had to visit. New and unique animals he had to see and understand. He was not going to stop because he was tired.  
Aaron dug down to the very core of his being; drawing upon all of the training he had received studying Tai Kwan Do. He pulled out all of his energy. He poured out his very life. Instead of the energy coming slowly to him, it came in a flood. He could make it and he would. He started rolling again. As he was rolling, he could feel himself getting weaker. If he kept this up, soon he would not have enough energy to breath. The next thing he knew, he was cool. He had made it. He stopped himself and sighed. He was safe. He had just enough energy to keep breathing. With that thought, he let the blanket of unconsciousness cover him.  
  
The next thing Aaron remembered was that he was cold. He realized that he had just woken up. But what had woken him? He took a survey of his body. He was still so tired. But he felt something else. What was it? He knew he had felt this feeling before, but his brain did not want to function. His mind was sluggish. His lips were chapping. His mouth was dry and scratchy. His stomach felt as if it was on fire. What did it mean? He swallowed some saliva that was in his mouth and then he realized what was wrong with him. He was thirsty. He sat up from lying on the ground and looked around himself, trying to find some sort of something that he could drink. However, he could not see anything, but faint shadows on a dark background. Wherever he looked, all he saw was a pale, whitish glow falling on shapes that looked partially like things he knew, but he could not make them out. He realized that it must be nighttime. The biting cold of the wind blowing through the trees sapped the heat from his body like touching dry ice. Aaron remembered that he had stashed various items into his pockets.  
He slowly lifted his right arm and started feeling through his pockets. Finally he came across something. It was a bottle of water, one that had been fortified with various nutrients, but did not give the water a taste. He quickly opened the top of the bottle and started drinking. He took several huge gulps and then pulled the bottle out of his mouth. He took several deep breaths, as he had been holding his breath when he drank. The cold water struck his empty stomach like a hot iron. He closes his eyes in pain and started bending himself to protect his stomach, going into a fetal position as much as was possible, considering the restricting floatation device that was still attached to him. After a few heart- wrenching moments, the pain decreased. Aaron did not want to go through that again, so he sealed the top of the bottle and replaced it in his pocket. He started getting drowsy again, but was still cold.  
Aaron looked around and spotted what looked like a bush nearby. He realized that the bush might break the wind and keep him warm. Aaron weakly got to his hands and knees and started crawling like an infant towards the bush. He made it to the bush and saw that he could slither underneath it. He then squirmed into the bush and found it made a small hollow space in its center. There was just enough room for him to curl up in. Aaron proceeded to crimp up into a ball and was soon asleep.  
When Aaron stirred the next time, he could make out the shapes of the bush he was sleeping under. He realized that it must be daytime, and the sun was shining through the gaps in the leaves. Aaron then proceeded to wriggle out of his temporary shelter and stood up for the first time since he was taken overboard. What he saw was simply lovely. He saw a clear expanse of pure blue ocean stretching as far as he could see. There were light fluffy clouds drifting through the sky. Meeting the ocean was a beach of pure white sand. It glittered in the sunlight, like thousands of tiny crystals reflecting the sunlight in all directions. Aaron turned to look back at where he came from. The dense forest that greeted his sight was enchanting. It was composed of mainly of conifers, ferns, and shrubs. But what surprised Aaron was the size of the trees. They reached into the sky. They were at least 200 meters in height. And that was just some of the smaller trees. However, as Aaron continued to look around, he spotted a type of tree that he did not recognize. He saw that this tree type appeared about one-third as much in the forest as the conifers. Here and there, vines stretched up trees or across the ground. All in all, it was breathtaking. Here was untouched natural beauty. However, even this sight did not keep Aaron long.  
He sighed and then removed his floatation device. Once that was done, he checked it to see if the distress beacon attached to it was still transmitting. A quick check showed that the light was still flashing and Aaron assumed that it meant that all systems were operational. With this he should be found within a few hours by the authorities. Then he would be rescued and would face the music back at his university. After checking the distress beacon, he opened the various pouches and pockets of the floatation device to see what is was that he had managed to gather in his mad dash through the hallways of the sinking ship.  
In the end, Aaron found that he had gathered enough food to last him approximately 4 days. However, all he had was 2 bottles of water. Aaron knew that without water, he would not survive long enough to be rescued. Continuing on that train of thought, Aaron wondered why he had not been rescued already. Even he was lost on a small island, which he believed he was on; there should have been a transporter or shuttle close enough that it could be sent to find him. For that matter, there were always a number of spaceships in orbit at any given time, and they would surely have sent down some sort of rescue team if they received the distress beacon's signal. Therefore, Aaron had to assume that the beacon must therefore be malfunctioning and not transmitting. Aaron did see that his triquarter was operational, but he immediately shut it down. He did not want to drain the charge in the mechanism. He had no idea if he might need it later.  
Aaron nibbled on some freeze-dried and sealed crackers and put the rest of his provisions back into his floatation device and placed it back on. Until he found some useful plants which he could fashion into pouches and the like, it was the most efficient way of carrying his supplies. Aaron decided to set out along the shore to see if he could find the mouth of a freshwater stream. Aaron walked to the edge of the forest and found himself a strong, almost straight stick that was about 2 meters. Using his modified walking stick, Aaron set out in a direction. Aaron traveled close to the forest so that he would not have as much trouble walking through the sand as well as providing him a chance to look at the forest and see if he could spot sources of nourishment or water.  
While walking, Aaron noticed various signs of life on the beach. He saw the tell-tale tracks of beach-combing birds and what appeared to be small reptiles. In the forest, he heard the sounds of some sort of great beast. It was a deep throated growl as well as various honks and howls. It sounded like there was more than one of these creatures, as he heard various sounds coming from different directions. He had never heard these sounds like this before. He hoped he did not run into whatever was making those noises. Then he came across a set of tracks that were about one-half of a meter long from end to end, and roughly 3 meters between tracks. The footprint looked like some large animal had made them. It was roughly circular with what looked like 4 or 5 nails on what looked like the front part of the foot. It might have been made by one of those creatures he heard earlier. However, there were a couple of things that Aaron could figure out from the footprints. One was that the animal was a quadruped. He could clearly see that there were two sets of prints and no animal outside of humanoids would walk one right behind the other. The other was that this creature was big and heavy. The footprint was just about as big as an elephant's footprint. This probably meant that it was an herbivore. This was encouraging, because if he could follow it, he might find food and water. A creature that big would be easy to track through the forest, because it's sheer size would leave a large path through the forest.  
Aaron continued to walk, except that he was now tracking his quarry. As he walked, he mind kept wandering around these tracks he was following. It looked like the tracks of an elephant, but there was something wrong with them. However, he could not place his finger on the problem. The spacing between the footprints did not exactly match up with those he had viewed of other elephants. He had visited Africa before, doing research on some of the early societies that existed in Africa before the invaders from Europe came and destroyed the African culture and splintered their society. While he was there, he got a few days away to do some camping and hiking in the savannah. While he was not a man who would be considered a hunter- gatherer, one of those survivalists who had existed in the early years following the use of the atomic bomb at the end of the Second World War, he was considered to be a fairly good camper, hiker, and outdoorsman. He did know some of the most ancient ways employed by hunter-gatherer societies to survive in a hostile environment. He was, in fact, proud of his knowledge of his ability to survive without technology, where most people nowadays would be lost without some sort of modern mechanism.  
When he did go on his camping trips, he was always sure to wear a communication, tracking device; just in case he happened to get into some sort of trouble that he could not get himself out of, like he was about to be attacked and eaten, but otherwise, he used much more basic essentials to survive than most people. He would carry a polymer sheet to act as his tent, a sleeping bag, some food and water, and basic eating utensils. One other piece of modern technology that he took along was a PADD that he used to store his drawings, his notes, and his thoughts. It also had a book or two in its backup memory, in case he got bored. He enjoyed living by fitting into a nitch in the environment that he had entered.  
As the day wore on, Aaron was not getting any closer to his target, and he was loosing strength fast. Soon, he was exhausted. Realizing his need to stop and rest, but he needed to keep searching for that creature. He stopped and then he marked the trail with some pieces of sticks that he found laying on the ground. He formed an arrow and two additional sticks to mark the trail. Then he set around to make himself a small lean-to. He gathered together twigs and made himself the basic frame. Next he took some of the brush he found nearby, removed it from the ground and he strung it through his frame. In a very short amount of time, he had made himself a sturdy little shelter. He took out a couple of pieces of dried fruit. He took a swig of water from his limited supply. Then he took off his floatation device, made it into a primitive pillow and then lies down and went to sleep.  
  
Aaron woke up the next morning feeling refreshed and almost to his full strength. Looking around at his surroundings, Aaron still could not find any sort of edible food or fresh water. However, his trail markers were still in place. And he could still see the tracks of the creature. However, they were a lot harder to see. He placed his floatation device back on and got ready to go. Nibbling on some of his provisions, he started out again. He picked up his walking stick and continued down the path. He still heard those animal sounds coming from the forest, but was not concerned much. He had gotten used to them and could tell that they were not close enough to give him trouble. With this, Aaron continued his tracking of his quarry.  
After a few hours, Aaron was starting to get tired. He guesstimated that he had been traveling for 4 hours and needed a break. As he was looking for a place to sit down and take a break, his eyes scanned down the beach. He saw something that looked out of place on the beach. Aaron jogged over to look at the object. He saw that whatever it was, it was half-buried in the sand. He made it to the object and saw that it looked like a man. It looked like a body. Aaron started digging. Soon he had unearthed the torso, legs and arms. As he uncovered a hand, he saw that is was a manlike creature. Its skin was shiny and off-white color. He had a suspicion. He had found a floatation device attached to the body. He then went to uncover the head. After scraping off all the sand from the face, Data's closed eyes greeted Aaron's gaze.  
Aaron feverously dug around Data's head, working to uncover it. As Aaron got to the top of Data's head, he discovered that a panel in Data's head was open and filled with sand. Aaron finally just grabbed the sides of the head and lifted. Data's head slowly started pulling out of the sand, and as more was pulled out, the easier it got. Finally Data's head just popped out of the sand and the sand on the sides of the hole left behind slid down to start filling the hole.  
Aaron maneuvered the body so it was in a roughly sitting position. He then started looking for the damage that kept Data from running. He lightly blew on the sand that was still in the open panel, trying to remove built-up sand while not driving any particles deeper into Data's circuitry then they already were. He finally got out what looked like most of the sand particles. He then made a thorough check of the open circuits for any remaining particles. He saw a few, but he could not get them without causing further damage. He then closed the panel. He checked around the rest of the head for other open panels or panels that had recently closed. He found that there was one on the side of the head, just above the left earlobe that had sand in it. Aaron did the same thing that he did for the other panel. When he closed the panel, Data did not respond or move. Realizing this was definitely a crisis; Aaron whipped out his triquarter and started taking readings of Data's head. While his right hand held the scanner and moved it over Data's head, the left hand held the triquarter. Occasionally, Aaron taped on the pad to get better resolution. He then opened up the two panels that had sand in them to run the scanner over the circuitry. After a bit of high resolution scans, Aaron found a couple wires that had some buildup on them.  
He closed his triquarter and then he looked around his surroundings and spotted a thorny bush nearby. Pulling himself to his feet, he walked to the bush. He pulled off a couple of branches and started stripping off the leaves. As he stripped the leaves, he walked back to his only hope for companionship he had seen so far. Stripping down the branches, he fashioned primitive tools to try and scrape off the contaminants. He worked very slowly. The sweat trickled down his forehead as he furrowed his brow. Finally, after about an hour of delicate work, Aaron thought he had removed as much of the contaminant as possible.  
He reopened his triquarter and rescanned the damaged area. The results were encouraging. He used the scanner to try and restart some of Data's basic processors. As he did this, various lights turned on in Data's head and started swirling around. Aaron sat back and smiled. He closed the panel and waited.  
Data's eyes started fluttering open and closed very fast. His hands started twitching. Then his arms started jerking. Finally he just finished sitting up. He looked around in a very robotic fashion. His head swung from side to side very fast, occasionally stopping very fast then moving on. His gaze finally settled on Aaron. His mouth opened and he looked like he was trying to speak, but no words were coming out. Data's head tilted to his left side. He tried again to speak. His face showed confusion and puzzlement. He brought his right hand up to touch one of the panels in his head and tried again.  
"Aaron. How long have I been out?"  
Aaron smiled. Finally, he was not alone and besides, Data might know of some way to get the distress beacons on the floatation devices working. All I know is that I have been aware of the passage of 3 days, counting today. As for how much time I can not account for, your guess might be better than mine."  
Data nodded. "My internal chronometer says that 5 days, 13 hours, 27 minutes have passed since we were swept off the ship."  
Aaron face took on a thoughtful look. "That makes sense. I would have had to spend a lot of time recuperating from our ordeal. By the way, are you operating at peak efficiency? I found some sand and contamination in your head. Is it interfering with your internal systems?"  
Data's eyes took on a glassy look as he did an internal scan. "There is a 1.8 percent loss in processing speed and a 4.3 percent in data transmission through my body. These will be taken care of when we are rescued. However, I appear to be having difficulty moving my legs. Could you assist me?"  
"Of course, what do you need me to do?"  
"Just be ready in case I have need of your hands."  
Data started to try to get up, but his legs would not respond. After a few attempts, Data looked up at Aaron, who had gotten to his feet and said, "If you would be give me a hand up and help me over to that forest."  
  
Aaron responded simply by holding out his hand. Data took the hand and then was pulled up to his feet. From there, Aaron grabbed Data around the middle and dragged Data to the forest. Once in the forest, Aaron set Data down and then leaned against a tree. Data pulled down the top of his pants to expose his upper thighs. He then opened a panel in his right thigh. He looked in it and found corrosion in his leg. He pulled out his own triquarter from the floatation device and ran it over his panel in a manner similar to what Aaron did earlier. Finally, Data looked up at Aaron.  
"Could you please hand me whatever it was you used to clean the contaminants from my circuitry, please?"  
Aaron just went back to where Data had been laying for the past 5 days and simply picked up the thorns. He then gave them to Data without a word. Data took the thorns and carefully started scraping away the contaminants from his circuitry. Because of his computerized hand-eye coordination and computer reflexes, this time the work went by a lot faster. When Data was finished, he used his triquarter to activate his right leg. He was able to regain mobility of his leg. He then repeated the procedure with his other leg. In a relatively short amount of time, Data was up to optimal conditions, given that he was stranded and was using very primitive tools to repair himself.  
At the same time, Aaron decided to explore the immediate surroundings. In the surrounding territory, Aaron found more of the same plants that he has been seeing on this island since he had awakened. However, he found evidence that a large creature has recently passed through the forest nearby. Aaron, after finding this passage, began to follow the trail back to where it had come from and found out that it was the same creature that he had been tracking earlier. Seeing this, Aaron returned to his companion. He came back to find Data standing and moving around.  
Aaron walked into the clearing that Data was in. As Aaron walked in, that loud cry that Aaron had been hearing before came out of the jungle. Data looked around, trying to locate the source of the sound. Aaron just lifted his hand and said, "Don't bother. I have been hearing it for 2 days now. I believe that it is the cry of a creature that I have been tracking when I came across. And before you ask, no, I do not know exactly what it is, but I have made a few educated guesses as to what it is."  
Data turned his head to look at Aaron. "And what would those be and your evidence to make these hypothesizes?"  
Aaron started to talk. As he made each point, he tapped his right forefinger on the corresponding finger in his left hand, using the forefinger as number 1.  
"Well, here goes:  
1. I have never heard that creature's sound before and the tracks I have been  
following do not correspond to any animal I know of.  
2. The tracks I have been following must belong to the creature, as they are  
the only tracks I have seen since I woke up, and I do not believe that those  
sounds are made by birds.  
3. That the creature does not originate from Earth. I am pleased to say I  
know most of the tracks that are left by native creatures from my outdoor  
excursions and I can say without a doubt, that I have never seen these  
tracks before.  
4. I do believe that this creature is an herbivore. I base this conclusion on the  
fact that this creature seems to be rather large, about as big as an elephant,  
based on the depth of the tracks I found. I know that most carnivores are  
small, fast and rather quiet. Besides, this creature, I believe, needs lots of  
food to keep it going and only herbivores wander like this.  
5. Finally these tracks are of a quadruped. The tracks do not show any sort  
of claws on the paws, and that is simply impossible for a carnivore. That  
is too much of a waste for armament."  
Data nodded and smiled, "Those are good theories based on your observations. However, a scientist does not simply use his senses to prove a theory. I would advise the making of simple arms to defend ourselves."  
Aaron nodded, "You look for some rocks that we can use to fashion our tools and I will start looking around for other things to use as raw materials."  
That being said Aaron turned around and started to look around for other long sticks like the one he had been using as a walking stick. He found a few and gathered them together. While Aaron was doing that, Data went down to the beach to look for rocks to shape the wood into javelins and spears. Not finding any on the sandy beach, Data returned to his campground and started digging. He came across some hard packed clay after about 10 centimeters of nice loam. Mixed in with the clay was some round rocks. Data started gathering them to make not only defensive tools, but a campfire ring as well, considering his companion might need the warmth with the coming night.  
When night came upon the two castaways, they had gathered around 10 long sticks like Aaron's walking stick, 10 stones large enough to fashion into hand axes, about 10 meters of good strong vine to use as twine, and 20 sling-sized stones. Aaron had also pulled about one meter's worth of thorny branches from nearby to fashion into barbed whips. They had also gathered a small pile of firewood and had a cheery blaze going in a dugout fire pit that Data had made digging for rocks.  
Aaron and Data were sitting on opposite sides of the fire and facing each other so that they could talk and work at the same time. Data was sharpening sticks to make javelins, while Aaron was fashioning a couple of bolas from the vine and stones collected earlier. A quick glance around the campsite showed that product of their work. Sitting to one side were 5 heavy spears with a stone tip and 3 javelins. Data was working on another javelin. Sitting nearby were 3 completed hand axes. These creations consisted of about three-fourths of a meter of wood with one end notched and attached to it was a large stone. The stone was held to the wood with vine held under tension and fitted into special groves made in the wood. Also, nearby, were 2 slings sitting nearby, fashioned out of vine with a pouch for stones made out of Aaron's trash that he had saved. These tools could not have been made without Data's incredible strength. Data would look at a stone; calculate the precise angle and force needed to break the stone in the required way. Thus, it took Data only 30 minutes what would take days for Aaron to make.  
When that was done, the two castaways divided up their armaments. Each of them got a bola, two javelins, two spears, and a hand axe. Data got the extra hand axe while Aaron got the other hand axe. With that done, Aaron pulled out some of his provisions. He offered a bit of his remaining food to Data, but Data shook his head no.  
Data said, "While I can turn organic substances into mechanical fluids that my body can use to keep itself lubricated, I do not need any food now. Save it for yourself you cannot survive without food."  
Aaron just nodded his head and then eats a little more of his provisions. He took out his open water bottle and drank. He then saw that the bottle was now empty. He put it back into his pockets. Aaron then looked at Data and spoke, "I believe that our distress beacons are malfunctioning. It has been 5 days since we were swept overboard and no one has come to rescue either one of us."  
Data nodded, "I will look at them to see if I can find out what is malfunctioning with them."  
Aaron started to get himself ready for sleep. His own floatation device was used as a pillow and Data's was placed over him as a small blanket. Data sat down and closed his eyes, going into sleep mode. And so they slept, the fire burning down to embers.  
  
Aaron slowly awoke. He sat up and stretched his arms while yawning. He then scratched himself on his chest, while smacking his lips. Data came out of sleep mode and stood up. He then placed a few pieces of starter material in the embers of last night's fire and blew upon it. The fire flared back up and Aaron added pieces of kindling to stoke the fire. Finally one piece of wood was added and it burned merrily. Aaron pulled out a couple more rations and ate them. Then he opened and drank from his other bottle of water. When he was done, he put his trash in his pockets and placed his flotation device on. He handed Data his floatation device back and Data pulled out the triquarter that was in its pocket. He started to run scans over the distress beacon.  
While Data was scanning the distress beacon, Aaron started to gather their hand-made tools. He tied together all the spears as well as two of the javelins so that they could be carried as a bundle. He set aside two javelins to be carried. He then split the sling stones between the two slings he had made and placed one set in one of his pockets. He then placed two hand axes in his waistband of his trousers. He then squatted down to wait for Data.  
Soon, Data put down his triquarter and turned to Aaron. 'There appears to be nothing wrong with the beacon. The triquarter is picking up the distress signal being broadcast from the beacon clearly. There must be something else that is keeping the signal from being received."  
Aaron put his chin in his hand and started to rub his rough beard. "Well, we will worry about that later. Right now, I think we should concentrate on finding food and water so we can live long enough to answer the bigger questions."  
Data nodded and then put on the floatation device. He put his sling and stones in one of his pockets. He picked up the bundle of spears and tied it to his back. He picked up his hand axe and placed it in his waistband. He then picked up a javelin and bola, while Aaron was putting out the fire. When that was done, Aaron picked up his javelin and bola and the two headed out, Aaron in the lead and Data following.  
Aaron walked to the spot where he had found the trail of the creature he had been tracking before finding Data. He pointed at it and said to Data, "Lets follow this creature's trail. Hopefully it will soon lead us to at least water and maybe some food." With that being said, he took off and Data followed.  
  
After a couple of hours of tracking, Aaron and Data came across a small stream of water. Aaron got down and looked at the water. He saw it was a fast moving stream and was relatively clean. Aaron filled up his empty bottle and then put it back into his pocket. The two castaways sat down and Aaron started to rest.  
"Well, Mr. Data, what do you think? Nice little forest here. However, I still wish I knew what it was we were tracking."  
"You and me both, Aaron. But, while I am standing here, I believe I should teach you a little bit about my circuitry, in case I go offline again."  
"That sounds like a very good idea. Wait a minute." Aaron digs around in his pocket and pulls out a PADD. This PADD was the one that had Aaron's notes and ideas.  
"Here, download your circuitry schematic into this PADD. Don't worry about what is already on it. It is just notes of mine, nothing important."  
Data nodded and set aside his javelin. He took up the PADD and started rapidly typing in information into the PADD. In a few minutes, Data had finished. He handed it back to Aaron, whom put it back into his pocket.  
"Well, Mr. Data, I guess we should follow this stream. It might take us out of this forest."  
An unknown voice came out of the bushes, "That will take you a long time. Why not come with me instead?"  
  
Note: I am sorry for the amount of time it took to update this story. I was caught up in the real world (god damn home improvements). I hope to have the next story up in about a month. 


	3. Journey to Sauropolis

Note: Sorry for the extremely long delay in getting this chapter out. I had real-life problems like school, work, family, etc. Because of this, I do not expect to update this story soon, but I plan on continuing this story. I thank anyone who puts up with my lack of speed in updating this story. But enough about that, here is the next chapter.  
  
To Go Where No Man Has Gone Before: Dinotopia  
Chapter 3: Journey to Sauropolis  
  
Aaron twisted his body to face the new voice. His right hand drifted to the hand axe that still hung at his waist side. At the same time, Data started to rise while his own hand closed around his javelin and he moved it to a position so that he could throw it, if needed.  
As they both prepared themselves for a confrontation, a man emerged from the surrounding woods. He appeared to be in his late 30's with a medium build. His face was covered by a thick, but well-trimmed brown beard. His hair was somewhat long, hanging just below his shoulders, but it was tied up into a tight braid to keep it from getting snagged by branches. He wore a tight-fitting tunic of a patched green and black pattern that made it hard for him to see in the forest. The tunic was belted at his waist with a piece of black-dyed rope. Attached to the rope on his right side was a pouch. On his back was a hiker's backpack, complete with sleeping bag, tent, comforter, as well as the main backpack. His pants were of the same pattern and were slightly baggy. Over his feet he wore black shoes made out of a leather-like material with black laces. In his left hand, he carried a wooden pole with a shine that spoke of being well worn.  
He came into the clearing and he then sat down. "My friends, you can lay down your weapons. They are not needed here." He waited there and he saw that neither Aaron nor Data were lowering their weapons. He sighed, "I am sorry, but here on Dinotopia, there is no need for weapons."  
Aaron looked perplexed. "Did you say 'Dinotopia'? I'm sorry, but it is hard for me to understand you. Your accent is horrible."  
The man threw back his head and howled with laughter. "You should talk," he said, "your mouth sounds like it is full of mush. However, yes I did say Dinotopia. This is a place that, to our knowledge, has remained undiscovered by the rest of the world. Have you ever heard of Dinotopia?"  
Data set his javelin down and started to search his internal database. To Aaron and the stranger, it looked like Data's eyes were rolling in his sockets. The stranger started to turn to Aaron when Data stopped.  
"There has been no mention of Dinotopia in any records that I have reviewed."  
The stranger looked at Data and nodded, "See there. How about you?"  
Aaron looked away for a minute and then answered, "No, I have not."  
The stranger nodded as if he expected that answer. "That will lead me to my next point. There is no getting off of the island. It has been tried. Nothing has worked. Basically, your previous lives are over. Whatever crimes or criminal activity you may have committed does not matter, so long as you do not continue such behavior here. Another main thing that you will find here is that we do not use any technology here. We use only the most basic of tools needed to complete our task. Finally, the reason we call it 'Dinotopia' is because dinosaurs live here. And they are not dumb brutes. They have been alive for almost two hundred twenty- five million years. They have evolved mentally to a point beyond what we humans have achieved. They have constructed a civilization that almost everyone who has arrived believes to be a utopia. They are smart and individualistic as any human. The only thing is that because of their mouths and throats, most of them cannot speak our language, but they all understand it. In time, I am certain you will understand their languages as well."  
"However, I believe that the benefits far outweigh the losses. Here we have no war, no famine, no pestilence, and few diseases that cannot be cured, very little malcontents. Here everyone is given the choice of what career they want to do and the opportunities they need to achieve that option. This is also a place were everyone is treated the same. There are no races, no classes and gender does not matter. And the reason we have made these strides is because of the dinosaurs. Any questions?"  
Data and Aaron turned and looked at each other, raised their eyebrows, and then returned to looking at the stranger. "Are you serious?" asked Aaron incredibly. "I mean, dinosaurs dies sixty-five million years ago, and I can understand if you are a no-tech*, but could you tell us where we are really and where we can go to find some help? Our ship sank over five days ago and we need to check in to see if the rest of the crew checked in or if a search party needs to be sent out to find the rest of our crew."  
The stranger simply shook his head, "All dolphinbacks are like this, I am told, when they first arrive. Although our last dolphinback came here over three hundred years ago, during what I believe was being called at the time, 'The Third World War'. I guess it would just be better to show you than tell you. If nothing else, I will take you to a place where you can receive help. "If you would be so kind as to follow me."  
Before the stranger started to move, Aaron asked, "I'm sorry, but may I have your name?"  
"Oops. I forgot to mention that, didn't I? My name is Daniel. And what do you go by, if I may ask?"  
Data opened his mouth to start speaking, but Aaron jumped in first, "My name is Aaron and my friend here goes by the name Data.  
That being said, Daniel got up and waited for Data and Aaron to gather their belongings. Aaron looked over at Data and shrugged his shoulders. "What do you think?"  
Data replied, "I would advise caution at this stage, but let's follow him, for the moment."  
Aaron simply nodded his head. He then turned and spoke to Daniel, "Thank you for giving us your aid. However, we will keep our weapons with us, just in case."  
Daniel just nodded and said, "Very well. I will not try to stop you. All I ask is that you imply restraint in your usage of those things. Do we agree on that?"  
Aaron and Data nodded their heads yes. After that, Daniel set off at a somewhat brisk pace through the brush. While Daniel seemed to be right at home in the forest, Aaron and Data were not as good as Daniel, but they were pretty surefooted in the among the trees . Daniel seemed to flow through the woods, never stumbling, never getting hit in the head with a low-hanging branch. Data occasionally stepped on a twig, giving off a loud snap, while Aaron would stumble from time to time on roots that were hard to see in the shadows. Aaron, however, would use his javelin as a walking stick, catching himself before him fell, and using it to probe the ground in front of him.  
After a while, Aaron decided to make some small talk with their guide.  
"I have a question for you. How did you know we are not from around here?"  
"It was a simple manner. I overheard your conversation and your accent gave me the suspicion that you two are not from around here, and it was confirmed by your clothing and the fact that you had conceived of having weapons."  
Aaron looked at his guide's attire and then looked down at has own ragged clothing and "hmmm"ed. "Well those are fairly good reasons."  
Aaron then slowed up a little bit, until he was side by side with Data. "Data," Aaron whispered, "until we get to a communication center, I believe that we should keep the fact that you are an android to ourselves."  
"Agreed, but what should I say when he asks about my skin tone or eye color?"  
"This man says that he has not had contact with the outside world since the Third World War. Let's say that you are a variation of human that appeared after the War. We will insinuate that you are a human mutation that developed, without actually saying that. I would also believe that it would be wise to keep First Contact and all subsequent contacts with other species a secret from Daniel and his friends until we have seen more of their culture. Finally, I would be very careful in exposing our level of technology to these people. We don't know what affect these things might have on their culture and I don't want to destroy it with things they do not need to know. I believe that is the Prime Directive, is it not."  
"You are correct in your interpretation of the Prime Directive. I saw a similar situation turn out fairly poorly when we violated the Prime Directive on a primitive culture of humans who lived on an isolation colony. I will modify my speech accordingly."  
"Good. I am glad we are on the same train of thought. I would suggest that we compare notes between each other on what we have said so we don't contradict each other and raise suspicion," concluded Aaron.  
That being said, Aaron hurried his step to catch up with their guide. Daniel had noticed the fact that Aaron and Data had been in a private conversation, but figured they were just discussing their situation and besides it was private, so he was not going to stick his nose in. It was not the Dinotopian way. However, he hoped that the two would adjust. Some people had given completely to their new lives, while others could not let go of their old lives. But, whether they embraced Dinotopia enthusiastically or reluctantly, all eventually came around and found peace. He hoped these dolphinbacks would adapt quickly. They seemed nice enough.  
Besides, he was curious about the outside world. Daniel wondered about the advancements and changes in thought, philosophy, and culture since the last dolphinbacks had arrived so long ago.  
  
As the day wore on, the three travelers got to know each other more. Data and Aaron learned that Daniel is '17 fathers Irish' which they learned meant that the most recent dolphinback to enter into Daniel's family tree was a male and it happened 17 generations ago. He also talked about his youth and his experiences growing up with his parents and their dinosaurian partners. He described the intricate details and complexities that his parents had with their partners. While he was describing these details, Aaron just looked at Data and shrugged. Neither one knew what to make of this man and his delusions. However, they soon started to talk about their own lives with the gentle prompting of Daniel.  
Aaron gave a brief history of his family and life. He talked about aspects of his childhood. He talked about his parents and the fact that they were dead. Then he talked about his college life and subsequent academia career. Data discussed the fact that he was a scientist and Operations Officer, but they only stated that he was the 2nd in command of a ship, not a starship. Data avoided his childhood, since he didn't have any memories of that time of his life. Data then went on to talk about his friends on board the Enterprise and some of their antics while on board. He described their conversational topics when they played poker, Commander Riker's continuing attempts to successfully master the trombone, to Doctor Crusher's plays and musicals that are put on in Ten Forward.  
By mid-afternoon, the triad broke out of the forest and onto a sort of dirt road. It was the sort of trail that was made from thousands of feet over hundreds of years and has been packed down until it was harder than reinforced steel. However, there were two very deep rivets in the road from wagon wheel tracks. But what drew the attention of the two castaways was that in the ever-present dirt that covered the road were footprints. Some of them looked like, elephant tracks, but these tracks were made by a creature that was easily twice as big as an elephant. They looked similar to the tracks the castaways had seen on the beach. Others were much more pointed, like human's feet and there were spots were claws had made an impression. Finally, a couple of tracks were very pointed and the claw marks were deep and showed the impression of very sharp appendages. Interwoven with these tracks were the imprints of human boots. The most recent footprints were huge and rounded. They looked like the tracks the temporarily-transplanted travelers had been following on the beach. They went off to the left.  
Daniel pointed at the tracks and stated, "This is a heavily traveled route from Chandara to Sauropolis. Sauropolis is about a day's walk from here." Daniel pointed of to the left. "I will take you there. When we arrive, there will be people there who are much more able to answer your questions and make sure that you are cared for."  
Aaron looked both ways down the road, and then turned to their guide. "You said that this is a main route, didn't you?" After Daniel nodded yes, Aaron continued, "And you said before that you use only the simplest of tools to do chores." Daniel nodded yes again. Aaron then went on to say, "If that is so, then I expect that you use simple wagons for heavy hauling of goods and materials." After a third nod from Daniel, Aaron concluded, "I then expect that there must be some sort of way station or rest area somewhere nearby for people to rest and refresh themselves. Am I correct?" After a final nod from their guide, Aaron suggested, "Why don't we go to one of these places. There should be one nearby and maybe we can get a ride into this Saurpolis."  
Daniel looked quizzically at them and then spoke, "That makes sense. That way you will have others who can explain things better than me. And, by the way, it is Sauropolis, not Saurpolis. However, it is more practical if we were to just make camp here and wait for morning. We do not know if anyone is traveling the road and moving around would just get us further away from the city. We will set up camp here. Got a problem with that?"  
Data stepped in, "That is an agreeable solution. This way, if a wagon or something comes by, we can ask for a ride. We should set up camp over there," Data points to a clearing next to the road, but far enough away from it so that they would not get trampled if they overslept. "I am sure that you both are hungry. We did not stop for a lunch earlier so your bodies should be demanding food. Let us go over there and set up sleeping arrangements." With that being said, Data strided out with authority across the road. Daniel and Aaron had no choice but to follow him.  
After they arrived at the clearing, they set about setting up a campsite. Data started looking around for some burnable material, while Daniel dug out a fire pit and Aaron set aside the remainder of his food to make a meal. Soon they had a cherry blaze going and were enjoying a meal of a sort of vegetable stew. The stew was made using some of Daniel's food supply, with Aaron adding a few items of his own. The stew was cooked over the fire in a hiker's pot. While Daniel and Aaron sat eating using wooden bowls and spoons, Data ate only a portion of the food given to him. He ate only so he wouldn't seem so out of place, but he ate only enough to replace certain fluids in his body that were running low on. The rest of it ended up on the ground, out of sight. Soon they finished eating and decided to settle in for the night. Daniel pulled out a blanket and some sort of comforter that he used as a barrier between himself and the ground. Aaron was stuck sleeping the same way he had before. Data leaned back against a nearby tree and went into standby mode. Both he and Aaron had a spear close at hand, just in case, but they were not disturbed all night.  
  
Aaron awoke to the sun shining into his eyes. He started to rub his hands over his face, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. He sat up and stretched his arms and shoulders out, flexing his muscles after sleeping on the hard ground. After doing that, he rolled out of his makeshift nest and got up. He looked up to see that Daniel was already up and had re-stoked the fire and was cooking some sort of concoction over the fire in his hiker's pot. Upon further analysis, he discovered that it was the leftovers from last night's stew. As he looked for Data, Aaron saw him sitting over by the road, looking both ways. Aaron walked up to Daniel and knelt down next to him.  
"So what is the plan for today?" asked Aaron.  
Daniel continued to stir breakfast and replied, "We eat, we break camp, and then we start walking. If we are lucky, we will get a ride. But if we don't, we should reach Sauropolis by nightfall. Once there, we should be able to find you some lodging as well as a few changes of clothes."  
"Ok. Well, let's get started, shall we?"  
Daniel just handed Aaron a bowl and spoon. Then he ladled out a helping of the stew and placed it into Aaron's bowl. Aaron took his meal and sat down to eat. Daniel served up a bowl and looked over to Data.  
"Hey Data, stew's on. Here's your breakfast." Daniel set Data's bowl down and then reached for his own bowl. Data took one last look down the road and then returned to the campsite and picked up his bowl. He then walked back to the road, looking as though he was still on lookout for a ride to the city, but he also used the distance to hide the food he was given so it would not be discovered that he was not eating like a human should eat.  
When everyone had more or less finished their breakfast, they started to pack up and break camp. The fire was put out and buried. The trash was collected and disposed of. Everyone collected their items. Daniel packed up his backpack with his sleeping supplies as well as his cooking pot, bowls, and spoons after he had washed them out, as well as he could. Data picked up his life preserver, which he had given to Aaron to sleep on. Aaron picked up his own life preserver and took a couple of minutes to review some of Data's uploaded schematics on his PADD to make sure he understood a couple of Data's thousands of systems. Aaron made sure that Daniel did not see his PADD. When everyone had finished, they got to their feet and started walking.  
  
We find our three travelers walking down a well-beaten road. They were walking in the same order that they traveled to in the woods. Daniel walked and talked intermittently. The rest of his time, he spent looking up and down the road, almost as if he was looking for something. Aaron, who was walking behind Daniel, concentrated instead on the local plant- life. He was also just enjoying himself. He felt that he could get in touch with nature here. Carrying up the rear was Data. Data simply walked. He processed his surroundings, but did not react to anything with anymore than idle curiosity. Aaron noticed that Daniel was looking around. He was curious about what Daniel was looking for, but did not ask because he did not want to disturb the tranquility of the world around him. However, as time went on, his curiosity overcame his wish to preserve the tranquility. He ran up to Daniel and asked him, "What you looking for? A ride?" Daniel turned his attention to Aaron and replied, "Yes I am." Aaron mouth Oh, then went on to his second question. "When do you think we will be in sight of Sauropolis. Daniel looked ahead, looked at his sides and then said, "A few more hours still."  
  
They continued on their journey. As the sun was sinking low on the horizon, the three distance walkers crested over a small hill and came into sight of an amazing sight. There, below them, spread out in front of them was Sauropolis. Daniel had seen the city many times before, but he still stood in awe every time he gazed at the sight. However, he had the foresight to pull his gaze away from the city and look at his two traveling companions' faces as they set their gaze on the city for the first time. Aaron's eyes were full of wonder and amazement. Data's face, however, was something very different. His face did show signs of wonderment, but he also had the look of puzzlement in his face. Also, his head jerked around in a very stiff motion, as if his head was on a track or roller and could only move in certain directions. He reminded Daniel of a bird looking at something that it hadn't seen before. Daniel shrugged his shoulders, figuring that's what Data did when he came in contact with a new experience. He then turned his eyes back to the view.  
Aaron couldn't talk about what he saw. He later said that words were not enough to describe what he experienced. However, what he saw was a conglomerate of various cultures and civilizations. He saw ancient Greek columns and temples with Roman Imperial villas and aqueducts, to Japanese palaces and buildings that would not be noticed in Egypt. He also saw buildings that looked Aztec or Mayan and even a couple that looked like they came from India. Aaron would never have believed it, but each of the different buildings did not make this city look like a hodgepodge of cultures and buildings, all disjointed and out of place. It, instead, looked like a complete city, whole and uniquely distinct It made a statement to Aaron that each culture that existed on Earth was not separate and unique. Instead, each civilization was part of something bigger, greater. It said that all civilizations were part of the tapestry of humanity. He saw a book in the making just looking at the city.  
However, something else drew his eyes. Moving through the city were cranes of living flesh. He saw what most people imagine as the classic shape of the plant-eating dinosaur. He saw the long neck tapering off to a smaller head with the nose above the eyes. However, the necks were not gray as most people thought. Instead, they had colors like green, brown, red, purple, and others with some of them in patches. They also had banners, streamers, and other decorations that wrapped around them. Aaron had a good view of a boulevard. As he looked down on the street, he saw smaller dinosaurs walking up and down the street. He saw Stegosaurus, Ankylosaurus, Triceratops, and Hadrasaurs of all types and sizes walking side by side with humans. He was just amazed. Everything Daniel had told him before had been true. But how could it be true. It did not make sense.  
Data looked over the city. He observed architecture based from many old Earth civilizations. He saw Greek, Roman, Egyptian, Sumerian, Persian, Incan, Mayan, Aztec, Hittite, Assyrian, French, German, Spanish, Turkish, Russian, Magadhaen, Kosalaen, Mauryan, Ch'in, Han, T'ang, Sung, Ming, Mongol, Guptan, Heinan., American, and many others from all points in history and geography. However, his emotion chip flooded his positronic brain with the emotions of wonderment and awe.  
But what really caught his eye was the creatures. They appeared to be in the order Saurischia, and Ornithischia, with several suborders. He saw sub-orders Ankylosauia, Ornithopoda, Pachycephalosauria, Stegosauria, and Theropoda. He saw many species with common names like Ankylosaurus, Stegosaurus, Pachycephalosaurus, Iguanodons, Apatosaurus, a couple of Velociraptors, Hadrosaurus, and Gallimimus. It made it much more likely that Daniel was telling the truth. This made things a lot more difficult. He now had to adapt to a unique and isolated community. He had to figure out how he and Aaron arrived here, where here was in relation to Earth, get in touch with Starfleet, and see if he could get back home. But first, Data decided, he would look at the city and learn all he could.  
  
* no-tech: a movement consisting of people who believe that technology has led people astray from what is truly important. They believe that mankind should only use the least amount of technology needed. While they do realize that technology has given them many things that they could not have achieved otherwise, like medicine and space travel, they abstain from using technology except for dire situations, like when a person would die without advanced treatment. However, they believe that nature provides all that they need. 


End file.
